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Sunday, August 28, 2011

House Hunting Results!

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." ~ Ephesians 3:20-21

That's the scripture we've been resting in since we started the "house hunting" process in Alabama. I learned long ago that God loves to bless His children with good gifts (Matt 7:11) but sometimes, we have to ask for them! (Matt 7:8) So Rusty and I sat down, and made a list of everything we were hoping for in a home... from the location, to the number of rooms and bathrooms, to a garage, to a big yard, to good neighbors, and even a dishwasher! We figured we should ASK for what we want.... after all, what's the worst that could happen? God could say no, right? OR He could say YES!

Those details may sound silly, but believe me, we had a specific reason for each of them. And when you live at home, and eat at home, and sleep at home, and entertain at home, and recuperate from crazy long trips overseas at home, oh...yeah...and WORK at home ALL day EVERY day, your home is a pretty important place! And when you travel a lot, it's very important that you trust your neighbors!

Soooo.... we prayed... and searched... and searched.... and prayed.... and got scammed.... and were charged $160 in bogus "fees"..... and wondered if we would actually be able to find anything in our price range... and then..... we found our house!

And, would you believe it - it had everything we asked for (and then some!)

It has a garage (which means Rusty can now take care of his grandfather's truck that he inherited when he passed away, which means a LOT to him!)

It has a large office (which means plenty of room for working!)

It has an extra bedroom (because I have the gift of hospitality and really wanted space to bless visitors! After all, we have stayed in many friends guest rooms over the past 3 years!)

It's in a safe area (Rusty quickly vetoed the house with 16 sex offenders in a 1 mile radius.)

We have great neighbors (okay... we actually haven't met them yet BUT we know one of them is a policeman, which makes me feel super safe!)

It's 3 miles away from the #1 city on the list of "Best Places to Live in Alabama" (Helena - we are in Maylene/Alabaster)

It has a basement area (which is good for all the tornadoes that hit Alabama)

It has a dishwasher (which means we can use the juicer we got for our wedding! Yay for healthier options!)

It has a big yard and back deck (because sometimes we need to get outside during so many hours at home!)

And it was the ONLY house in our price range (which wasn't much!), in a safe neighborhood, with all these things!

But I left out the BEST parts... the parts we didn't even ask for!

It turns out, this house also has a beautiful 16 foot exposed stone fireplace (we LOVE fireplaces!) and a HOT TUB! (We had no idea until we got there - it wasn't advertised on the flier!)

And, one more detail... one of my favorite trees is the birch tree, and recently I've been trying to find a way to decorate with birch wood in our home. (Except I can't, because it's CRAZY expensive!) Well, wouldn't you know, our backyard is full of these BEAUTIFUL white birch trees! I couldn't help but laugh... God knows that one of the ways I connect with Him best is nature, and He has the back yard all set up for just that!

These things may seem silly to you, but they are a big deal to us! And from the moment we knew we were moving we said, "God is going to provide an amazing home for us, and He is going to get all the glory!" So, we just wanted to brag on God a little to all of you! Isn't my Daddy God AWESOME?!

It really is TRUE... "ask and you shall receive".... He is a good Father who loves to give good gifts to His children!

p.s. - The pic of the birch trees is just from my cell phone, so the quality isn't that great. I promise I'll share pictures of the house when we get all settled in! :)

p.p.s. - If you think this is just a "coincidence", then be sure to ask us about the 3 bedroom, 1.5 bath, full basement home full of big beautiful windows, with a 2 car garage, big front and back porches, on 2 lots of land, with a grape arbor out back that we've lived in for our first 2 and 1/2 years of marriage for only $300 a month. Yeah.... God is GOOD! :)